Alvarado probes sonogram bill

State Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, brought HB 15, his version of the abortion sonogram bill, to the House floor today, only to be met by beleaguered Democrats using whatever weapons they could muster to delay the inevitable. The weapons included amendments, point-of-order delaying tactics, and, for state Rep. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, a trans-vaginal probe.

Standing at the front mike on the House floor, Alvarado reached into a plastic grocery bag and pulled out the long, white-plastic device and then proceeded to describe in clinical detail how it’s used in the trans-vaginal sonogram procedure that she maintained Miller’s bill would require.

“This is not the jelly-on-the-belly that most of you think,” she said, introducing an amendment that would explain what the sonogram entails. “This is government intrusion at its best. We’ve reached an all-time high, the climax of government intrusion.”

Alvarado informed her colleagues that during the procedure the device was covered with a condom and gel “and is then inserted into the vagina. The probe sends out ultra-sound waves, which are used to project an image of the uterus and its contents onto a computer screen. And the health provider will move the probe within the area to view the pelvic organs. . . . A woman who has been a victim of rape or incest would undergo the penetration of this trans-vaginal probe, this very intrusive process. HB 15 provides no exemptions for victims of rape or incest. They would be forced to undergo this very, very intrusive procedure.”

Miller explained to his colleagues that his bill would require a doctor performing an abortion to conduct a sonogram on the woman at least 24 hours ahead of the procedure. (The Senate bill sets a two-hour mandate.) The doctor also would show the woman the sonogram image, play the audible heartbeat for her and describe what appears on the sonogram. In the House version, the woman would be allowed to refuse to view the sonogram or hear the heartbeat; in the Senate version she could opt out of seeing or hearing but would have to listen to the description.

“This is a way to shame women and to guilt women,” Alvarado said.

Mller insisted that the purpose of his legislation was informed consent and that he had a moral obligation to make sure women were fully aware of what they were doing when they sought an abortion.

“Anytime you abort a human life, that’s probably the most tragic procedure that could ever be performed,” he said. “If we can save human lives, that is an emergency. I would even put it in front of the budget. . . . If you’re asking me which is more important, the life of an unborn or the money in our state budget, I’m going to choose life over money any time.”

After a brief recess, the House was set to resume debate at mid-afternoon. “We’re going to find out today what a super-majority means,” said state Rep. Elliiott Naishtat, D-Austin, walking to his desk at the start of the sonogram debate.

At 3:15, Miller announced that he was sending the bill back to the State Affairs Committee to resolve a procedural technicality. Debate was scheduled to resume Thursday morning.